Is it possible for an employee to get his or her pay period changed from bi-monthly to bi-weekly as an hourly employee? Twice a month pay is heartbreaking and makes things complicated. Can one employee get it changed for themselves if it bothers no other employee?

Sadly, the answer is probably no. Employers are free to determine when payroll is calculated and issued based on their needs, typically not on the needs of staff members. To switch a single employee to a bi-weekly payroll, while others are on bi-monthly, would be an administrative nightmare no one would take on.

The challenge for employees on bi-monthly payroll – hourly and salaried – is managing money between checks. If you could get ahead of the game (one pay period in advance) you might be able to budget better, but maybe not. Very few people like bi-monthly if they’re hourly because it’s difficult to calculate what you’ll be earning (and what you can budget around) based on where the work week breaks during a month. But as much as people hate it, business often likes it because it reduces the amount of payroll processing from 26 times per year (biweekly) to 24 (bi-monthly).

My suggestion to you would be to ask your employer if they’d consider making a switch or at minimum, surveying all the company’s employees on what they would prefer just to see if you’re alone (you’re probably not!) in wanting a check every other week. If there’s an overwhelming YES Please Go Bi-Weekly sentiment, they might consider a change and you might be a hero to all your coworkers!

But even with everyone begging for bi-weekly, it’s the business owner’s decision ultimately. They might have a very good reason why bi-monthly is the standard. They might only have access to a payroll professional (or the budget to pay one) based on a twice-monthly basis. It’s still worth asking if they’d consider a change – all they can say is no, which leaves you in the same position – but they might say yes, or take a vote on it.

If nothing changes, look online for help with budgeting – you can adapt to bi-monthly with a bit of help and a lot of discipline. It’s a challenge (I once worked for a company that processed payroll monthly – yikes!) but it is possible! Good luck